‘Stealing out of necessity is not a crime’ – Italy’s highest court

How humanitarian is the law allowed to be and when does a man cross the line between surviving and being a criminal?

Italy’s highest court has an answer to these questions.

Italy’s court of Cassation, the country’s highest appellate court has ruled that a homeless man caught stealing cheese and sausages did not commit any crime and has therefore discharged and acquitted him.

Ukranian, Roman Ostriakov was nabbed in 2011 trying to pocket 4.07 euros ($4.72) worth of food in a supermarket in Genoa and after trial was sentenced to 6 months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of 100 Euros.

The ruling of the court was however, appealed on the grounds that Ostriakov had been stopped before he left the supermarket with the stolen food.

At a second appeal, Italy’s highest court acquitted him ruling that the theft of small amounts of food by the hungry poor is not a crime.

The court stated that it was clear the defendant “could not live without feeding himself, so acted out of necessity.”

The irony of this is that the theft of food worth below 5 Euros went through rounds of justice- first instance, appeal and cassation — before being thrown out.

All these legal processes would have cost the state way more than the stolen goods.

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